The ongoing allegations involving several of President Park Geun-hye’s top aides have added to her growing lame duck symptoms, with 17 months of her term left.

While Cheong Wa Dae cried foul and vowed strong counteraction in relation to the scandals, the ruling conservative Saenuri Party -- especially its reformist floor leadership -- increasingly showed signs of growing apart from the presidential office.

The most recent trigger for the divide was the suggestion that senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Woo Byung-woo had covert monetary connections with key officials of high-profile corruption cases.

“The given suspicions concern people that I neither know, nor met,” Woo told reporters Wednesday, adding he will not be stepping down from his post as demanded by the opposition circles.

Earlier Monday, local news reports said that online game company Nexon purchased in 2011 an expensive area of land in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district that had formerly been owned by the family of Woo’s wife.

The report suggested that Jin Kyung-joon, a senior prosecutor recently arrested for bribery charges, may have acted as broker in Nexon’s purchase of the 130 billion-won ($114 million) real estate.

Woo is also accused of covertly defending Jung Woon-ho, the former chief of local cosmetics brand Nature Republic, who is now detained over a lobbying scandal. As a former prosecutor, Woo temporarily worked as attorney in 2013-2014.

Despite Woo’s stern defense, the reports dealt a blow to Park and her team as the civil affairs official was seen as one of the closest confidants of President Park.

Adding to the president’s dilemma are the allegations that Hyun Ki-hwan, a former senior presidential secretary for political affairs and another top aide, had pressured a Saenuri lawmaker to renounce candidacy in the April 13 general election so as to favor a pro-Park runner.

Amid growing doubts surrounding Park’s aides, the ruling party leadership expressed unease toward the presidential office.

“We will demand an immediate clarification from Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Justice on allegations concerning Woo,” said floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk.

Further adding to the president’s woes is dissent in the conservative-leaning Yeongnam region, including the president’s hometown Daegu, over the government’s recent decisions not to build a new airport in Miryang and to deploy the much-disputed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

Among the 25 Saenuri lawmakers in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, 21 held a joint press conference last week, asking for proper compensation for the THAAD installment in the region.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)